The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1887-11-05
A CUSTOM OF oAHoMeY.
sickening sights for the Eyes Of Civilized
Mana sereuade.


Evans informed me that in a few days
one Of the customs as the DahOmians
call them. wax 10 come of in the court
yard Of the palace, and that could wit
ness 10 II ] chose | did choose, but |
wished afterward that had not. These
customs, which have existed as long as
Dahomey has-they claim O thousand
years-are Of various kinds. and with
names The one / was 70 witness was
/ called Throwing Of the Presents 9th
ers. Watering the Kings Graves, 1.-THE
| Feast Of the Troubadours, The Day Of
the King The Milking Of the Palm, "
etc.
The day came off. Evans, with a shud
der declined TO attend. He had seen Il
the year before In the center Of the
court yard platform was erected, hung
with silks. yclvets and flags, including
that Of Dah0mey-a white ground, with
figure in black holding aloft a decapitaied
head in one hand and a cimiter in the
other. On this platform stood the king,
surrounded 10y his mobiles. among whom /
had q prominent seat, while below strug-
cled a mass Of So 900 or more people, kept
in some order 10y the woman guard
The affair began by the king personally
throwing into a sliding trench various
packages Of goods, consisting Of cottons
clothes and cloths, knives. muskets, pipes
and tobacco. all Of which were fought
iercely for by the crowd below. Then
came the grand point-the slaughter
The victims were brOu lt forth dashed
into boat shaped baskets n q sitting POI
sition, with knees drawn mp 20 the chin.
and lifted into the slide. from which they
went down % the crowd below. Then
there camea horrible scramble Thousands
with long and Boz t knives threw them
selves ON the victim and ina a moment he
was hacked TO pieces as wei as were
some Of his hackers. the victor being the
one who came of with the head. This
was kept up for three hours the number
killed amounting 10 about 200, until the
crowd below was reekng and smeared
with blood a more horrible sight was
never witnessed and 10 did not lessen the
horror with me To- be told that this Is not
% mere useless slaughter. as civilized ma
tons suppose. hut % day of execution, the
dccapitaied being criminals traitors and
prisoners of war. Who have been often
sivc political parts sans 10 is the highest
HHtittf ih ffN f'f'f htHt Nt' ''itt 'tt'
where much -lau1hferiug is done, and
there is mo- doubt according 10 Mr..
Evans. that the KIN. himself wishes 10
abolish that part Of it but be dores not
That night perhaps as soother 10 my
nerves. the king gave as O. serenade by
Dis own private band was awakened
about midnight bya noise that ] can COM
pare 10 nothing but q thunderstorm in
scales They ram from high to low, and
GOT terribly mixed boz the middle n was
not really unpleasant, but. ike the chin
ngoi bells should he heard at a distance
the greater the distance the better.
sprang 90 ihc window. i0 hnd fhat this
band consisted NJ twenty-five men. each
with "a log or piece oi wood. the largest
so heavy that DO took four men 70 carryit
These were set one end on the ground.
fhe other supported 10y wood trestle. and
beaten ou fho high end with wood ham-
mcrs. 81 all sizes. from the hand hammer
TO q sled each stD, or log emitting its
sound. but no dist ,uishable air result
11-J ". Watson IN North American
Review.